What do you bed your cubicles with and how often???

Farfield

I am using a mix of flour lime and kiln dried sawdust morning and night and actisan powder twice a week - its expensive though. This is the first year i am bedding the cubicles twice a day, other years i just did them every morning, but more cows and more dirt. Also scrape the slats twice a day.
Would consider scrapers next year. What do the rest all do?? Do you have auto scrapers or wee tractor??

delaval

All cubicles twice a day and scraped 6 times a day with auto scraper. Outdoor cubicles scraped twice with loader and bedded.

All cubicles have mats and are bedded with White Rhino lime

grumpyfarmer

White Rhino here once a day scraped twice a day. .

mikeoh

grumpyfarmer wrote: »

White Rhino here once a day scraped twice a day. .

Is that ordinary builders lime????

rs8

peat moss twice a day

mahoney_j

From now till late jan sweep down twice daily and bed with farm cal line in morning ,will line twice a day from late jan to end of calving as well as sweeping down twice

grumpyfarmer

mikeoh wrote: »

Is that ordinary builders lime????

Yes, tho we get it in ton bags. Alot cheaper25kg bags were around €7.20 each while the 1 ton bag was €170 delivered. .

mahoney_j

grumpyfarmer wrote: »

Yes, tho we get it in ton bags. Alot cheaper25kg bags were around €7.20 each while the 1 ton bag was €170 delivered. .

140 a tonne here collected though

grumpyfarmer

mahoney_j wrote: »

140 a tonne here collected though

And here's me thinking I got a great deal.... :-)

keep going

Mastercal we use-good stuff.we dont bother doing anything with the cubicles during dry period until about 10 days from the start of calving go into overdrive then and scrap and lime and even spray cows with teat dip at every opportunity

mikeoh

Ye dairy boys must love hardship!!

delaval

mikeoh wrote: »

Ye dairy boys must love hardship!!

It's the difference between "gross" and "Nett" margin

visatorro

Mats cleaned twice daily. Don't use any bedding. no scrapers just slats.

joejobrien

Both Milkers and Dry cows ,twice a day scrapped off and bedded with 10% hydrate lime, and run auto scrapers as often as neccessary

Timmaay

Auto scrapers every 3hrs (I've heard of lads running them every 2hrs), lime and rape straw shavings (6e/bag) once a day, and muck brushed off the cubicle beds after 1st row of clusters put on the cows. I'm noticing 3 or 4 cows leaking however, mostly high yeild fresh calvers. I'll have to keep a closer eye on which are the offenders, if they are high scc also then I got a more serious problem.

I think magneta do ton bags of line delivered for 140.

delaval

Timmaay wrote: »

Auto scrapers every 3hrs (I've heard of lads running them every 2hrs), lime and rape straw shavings (6e/bag) once a day, and muck brushed off the cubicle beds after 1st row of clusters put on the cows. I'm noticing 3 or 4 cows leaking however, mostly high yeild fresh calvers. I'll have to keep a closer eye on which are the offenders, if they are high scc also then I got a more serious problem.

I think magneta do ton bags of line delivered for 140.

When housed, we stand all cows in a yard for min 20 mins after milking to allow teat end close

Timmaay

Not a bad idea del, I just need to hang two short gates at the end of each cubicle, let them just into the feeding passage.

Farfield

Auto scrapers would be great for me- it would save a serious time scraping with the hand scraper twice a day- do many of you have auto scrapers? Rope ones or tracks?

delaval

Timmaay wrote: »

Not a bad idea del, I just need to hang two short gates at the end of each cubicle, let them just into the feeding passage.

Tim this is our first year to do it. Scc was our priority this year and its something I took from a Cell Check clinic.

A few gates hung in the right places was all it took.

Timmaay

Farfield, Ive tracked ones, put in by dairypower about 15yrs ago. No major faults, other than afew hydraulic leaks. Back then rope or chain ones were much less reliable, however I think the rope ones have improved alot since.

And delaval, thankfully I'm having very few SCC problems at the second, spend much of last winter in the 500s, but sub 200 at the minute, about as low as it has been all year ha! Strange, but I ain't complaining!

Farfield

Same here, my cows all go out into yard until milking is finished. It really reduces scc and is good for the cows in general I think. A neighbour had mastitis problems in winter before and last year he started doing it and within a few weeks things improved massively by doing nothing else different other than keeping the cows from lying down for half hour or so after milking.